Sunday, December 06, 2009

Well it's been a valiant effort, and Matt has captured the whole thing on film so there's a disaster movie coming soon to cinemas near you, but we've had to abandon ship (or bus).

After two days of heroic efforts from Norman our driver and Ian the bus's owner on a phone from Shropshire, we've had to admit defeat. We tracked down a Routemaster specialist in South Coulsden who had the spare parts we needed. He gave us the inverter and the belts, we fitted them, then we whisked the bus off to Bexley Heath bus garage for a once-over from some proper bus mechanics and a bit of spring cleaning, and hit the road again. But this time we only made it as far as Maidstone Services before the bus ground to a halt again! Norman thinks it could make it as far as Dover, and possibly all the way to Copenhagen, at 15mph, but we wouldn't get there til it's all over. So tragically the Climate Debt Bus is no more. It's being towed back to Shropshire this evening.

We're now looking into alternative routes to Denmark - it's looking like a ferry is the next greenest (and cheapest) option, aside from flying, but the next one isn't for two days. Let's hope our breakdown isn't a premonition for the fate of the Copenhagen talks.